Purdue football coach Danny Hope fired; Higgins to serve as interim

Nov. 25, 2012

Head coach Danny Hope watches the Jumbotron as a play is reviewed by the officials Saturday in the Old Oaken Bucket game at Ross-Ade Stadium. Hope's tenure as Purdue football coach ended today. / By John Terhune/Journal & Courier

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Danny Hope's tenure as Purdue’s head football coach ended today after four seasons.

Purdue announced Hope’s dismissal this afternoon and will hold a 6:30 p.m., press conference tonight at Mackey Arena.

His firing comes one day following the Boilermakers’ 56-35 victory over Indiana at Ross-Ade Stadium. The win allowed Purdue to retain the Old Oaken Bucket.

Receivers coach Patrick Higgins will serve as interim coach for the bowl game. The Boilermakers became bowl eligible for the second straight year. They’re likely headed to the Dec. 28 Meineke Car Care Bowl in Houston or the Jan. 1 Heart of Dallas Bowl.

“There is no question that our football program has seen considerable growth under Danny’s leadership, particularly in the areas of academics, player development and recruiting,” athletic director Morgan Burke said in a statement.

“I applaud him for his passion about Purdue University and the young men he coaches. He and his staff have devoted their lives to improving the program, but as I told him earlier this afternoon, those efforts did not equate to the consistent on-field success that both of us expected.

“I want to personally thank Danny and his wife, Sally, for their contributions not only to Purdue but to the Greater Lafayette community.”

Hope compiled a 21-27 record during his Purdue career, including a three-game winning streak to cap off the regular season.

Following Saturday’s victory, Hope was asked if he had any regrets.

“I wish we would have won more games, absolutely,” Hope said. “But I don’t know what we would have done any different. The end reason is that we found a way and that’s what matters.

“I don’t know any other expectation to have other than (to) be the best. We had some opportunities early in the season that maybe we could be a team that could contend to be division champions. I’m not going to shy away from an opportunity like that. I don’t think we should ever direct our team away from opportunities like that.”

He spent one year as the program’s associate head coach before taking over for Joe Tiller, who retired following the 2008 season.

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Hope’s contract runs through 2016 after receiving a two-year contract extension last season and is owed $600,000. If not retained by the new coach, offensive coordinator Gary Nord, defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar and outside linebackers coach Donn Landholm are owed six months severance pay. The remaining six assistants will receive three months of severance pay, if not retained. The buyout cost for Hope and the coaching staff is nearly $1.3 million.

Hope doesn’t have any question about the commitment he’s made to the program.

“I've worked 85 to 100 hours a week, 50 weeks a year for the last four-and-half years in trying to return this program to national prominence and we were a long ways a way in many phases of our program,” he said Saturday. “What it took was elbow grease and commitment to get us back to where we are right now, where we’re in postseason play in back-to-back years and have made improvements in every phase of the program. It’s just that plain and simple.”

The players dedicated Saturday’s win to Hope and the seniors.

“He’s a very energized guy and we like that," defensive tackle Kawann Short said. “He keeps up with the players, always talking to us and we respect him.”

Hope’s tenure was filled with inconsistency, questionable decisions and game management issues.

His teams performed well one week, evident by the two victories against Ohio State at Ross-Ade Stadium in 2009 and 2011, but usually didn’t sustain its play. Along with beating the Buckeyes in 2009, Purdue also won at Michigan for the first time since 1966. However, the team didn't make a bowl game because of a five-game losing streak, including four by a combined 18 points.

The Boilermakers never capitalized on their momentum.

They suffered bad losses that hindered the program’s progress. Setbacks to Northern Illinois, Toledo, Rice the previous three years and Minnesota this season all left fans questioning the direction of the program.

Throughout the last four years, attendance continued to suffer.

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Purdue averaged 43,588 fans, a nearly 1,700 decrease from the 2011 season. The program has seen a decline in average attendance the last five seasons, including Tiller’s final year.

The current three-game winning streak is the longest against Big Ten teams since 2006.

With a roster featuring improved speed and experience, this was supposed to be Hope's breakthrough year. Purdue returned the most starters of any Big Ten team and appeared to be in position to challenge for the Leaders Division title. With Ohio State and Penn State ineligible because of NCAA sanctions to compete for a spot in the Big Ten championship game, the Boilermakers were the trendy pick among the experts.

However, a five-game losing streak to start the league season dashed all the championship talk. Four of those losses were blowouts, including three at home before dwindling crowds and a fan base that was well on its way to losing interest.

At that point, it became a matter of survival.

Behind quarterback Robert Marve, who is playing with a torn ACL, Purdue needed to win its last three games to become bowl eligible again. It did so, beating Iowa, Illinois and Indiana.

Hope's situation likely would've changed if the Boilermakers had knocked off Notre Dame or Ohio State on the road. The Fighting Irish kicked a field goal as time expired Sept. 8, and the Buckeyes rallied in the last minute to score eight points and force overtime. They eventually pulled out a victory.

Notre Dame and Ohio State are the nation's only remaining unbeaten teams.

His tenure was also riddled with injuries and questionable at the quarterback position.

In 2010, Hope used four different starting quarterbacks – Marve, Rob Henry, Sean Robinson and Justin Siller – because of injuries. During one stretch, Purdue started five different quarterbacks in a 13-game span covering two seasons.

Even this year had its share of quarterback drama. Caleb TerBush was named the starter, but missed the opener after violating a team rule. Marve tore his ACL for the third time Sept. 8 at Notre Dame, but TerBush was ineffective through the first month of the Big Ten season. His play forced Hope to switch back to Marve, who has started the final four games, despite the torn ACL.

Hope became the program's 34th head football coach in 2009.

He spent the 2008 season working with the offensive line, managing recruiting and monitoring academics. He was named to the position Jan. 11, 2008, with a succession plan in place for him to become head coach upon the Tiller's retirement.

An assistant under Tiller at Purdue from 1997 to 2001, Hope returned to the Boilermakers from Eastern Kentucky. He served as head coach from 2003 to 2007. His five-year record was 35-22, including 32-8 in Ohio Valley Conference games.